Supported by the Prairie Plains Resource Institute
Aurora, Nebraska
Nine miles north and two miles west of Albion lies a tract of land consisting of 77 acres. This land is now used as a Nature Preserve, but at one time it was a prosperous ranch. The story of the land is rich in history. It holds the secrets of old Indian battles and contains the legacy of Grant and Berenice Olson, their business, and their lives.
The story begins with the death of Omaha Indian Chief Logan Fontanelle. Becoming separated from the rest of his tribe, Fontanelle found himself on horseback, stuck in Beaver Creek when his horse was unable to free itself from the mud that enveloped its legs. The Chief was then ambushed by a small group of Ogallala Sioux. A fierce battle took place between the two tribes a short distance off. After the battle was over the tribesman and Chief Fontanelle were finally reunited. Instead of regrouping to discuss the details of the battle, the tribesmen found their Chief murdered. He had been viciously scalped and lodged in his chest the tribesman found seven arrows. The sacred Indian ground was then marked as a memorial to the fallen Chief. Over the years the memorial has mysteriously disappeared and the exact location where this Indian legend was slain remains unknown.
The land has evolved into lush rolling pasture and rich farming ground. During the harsh times of the Thirties, land was plentiful, but money was scarce. Several farmers and ranchers lost their farms to these elements, but others took advantage of this misfortune. Two of these fortune people are Grant and Berenice Olson. Our story unfolds as their lives are remembered by those who knew them and those who knew of them.
Grant J. Olson was born on April 17, 1898, to Nels and Alice Olson in Mead, Nebraska. Grant had one stepbrother, Norvin Olson, a stepsister, Mrs. Vern Force, and a sister Ruby Deffenbaugh. At the age of 14 Grant and his family moved to St. Edward, Nebraska, where they farmed.
Berenice I. (Swanson) Olson was born on October 19, 1898, to Albert and Ella Swanson in Nance County. Berenice was the second oldest of nine children. She has five sisters, Ruby, Ina, Gladys, Alieen, and Alberta. She also had four brothers, Floyd, Allen, Max, and Wayne. Berenice attended grade school at North Star School near Fullerton, Nebraska, and then transferred to Fullerton Public where she graduated in 1916. Before marrying, she taught school in Nance County.
Grant and Berenice started their lives together on February 6, 1924. They lived on the Olson homestead in St. Edward until they purchased their own ranch north-west of Albion.
In the Thirties when the economy was faltering, land was easily acquired. In 1937 Grant and Berenice borrowed money from their friends, Max Wolf and Otto Reich, to purchase Section 15 and a portion of Section 14 in Township 21 of Boone County from the Lincoln Joint Stock Bank. In order to secure this land Grant and Berenice took out a $17,500 mortgage. Grant and Berenice were able to close this mortgage by September 2, 1942, and on the same day they took out a new mortgage of $10,000 to purchase more land.
This new land was purchased from Emma Benham and included the remainder of Section 14, excluding the strip that was occupied by the railroad.
On December 16, 1950, Grant and Berenice purchased a tract of land in Section 10 of Boone County from Elga and Irwin Hunter for $1,401. Then later, on October 4, 1972, they purchased a strip of land in Section 14 from Flobert Industries, Inc. for $2,092. This land had once been used as a railroad. When it was all said and done Grant and Berenice accumulated 1,285 acres of land.
This area was the perfect place for a prospering ranch with grass land for pasture, fertile soil for crops with the Beaver River running through it. The Olson's ranching empire took off when they purchased 800 head of cattle.
"Well, when he bought that 800 head, Max Wolf was out to his place everyday." Ted Redler, anOlson hired hand, tells the story.
"Max said,'Grant, you can't afford to buy those cattle. I ain't gonna loan you the money.'
Grant said, 'You already did Max.'
" 'Yeah, but I decided I can't go along with it,' Max said.
"Grant said, 'Max, did I slip one over on you when I got these cattle! ...It ain't gonna do you no good to talk, the papers are signed. I'm keeping them.' "
After Grant got his start by purchasing the cattle he began to format his business. He raised his cattle until they were very large. Grant wanted the reputation of selling "good sized" cattle and so whether he made or lost money, he would only sell his cattle after they had reached 1800 pounds. Not only was Grant particular about the size of his cattle, but he was also particular about the marketing of his cattle. He would often ship his cattle to Chicago. On occasion Grant would make the journey with his cattle to Chicago, but at other times he sent someone from his ranching staff. Grant always wanted to insure that his cattle arrived at their final destination, and he didn't trust the railway to get the cattle there on its own.
In order to raise his cattle to be so large and in order to reach such hefty weights, Grant had to feed them well. Grant would grow nearly all of the feed that was used for the livestock. What Grant was unable to supply from his own homestead, he would purchase from local farmers. One of these buying occasions was recollected by Ted Thieman. Mr. Thieman recalls his father selling hay to the Olson Ranch. One evening Grant went over to the Thieman's to purchase some hay. Grant walked over to the hay stack and reached his entire arm into the stack of hay to insure that Mr. Thieman's hay was of the choicest quality. Grant made it a point to engulf his arm in every stack of hay before he agreed to purchase it. Finding the hay suitable, he paid for it and left.
Owning a sizable ranch meant employing many extra hands. Grant was a fair employer but often times a little difficult to get along with. He expected a lot from his workers, and he would settle for no less than perfection. An example of Grant's generosity to his employee's involved a new employee. Seeing that the man didn't have a suitable coat to wear, Grant bought the man a new coat and gave it to him. The man was thankful for the coat and accepted it and continued to work for Mr. Olson. After awhile the man decided to quit working for Grant. Grant accepted his resignation but insisted that the man give back the coat. After all, the man was no longer Grant's responsibility.
One peculiar habit for which Grant was known was that payday was not a designated day. Grant always paid his help but always on his own terms. Grant would just show up with the check for the hired helps' labor whenever he desired. This irritated several employees for they were unable to pay their own bills on time. Another employee was surprised at Grant's proposal to reduce his pay once he got the hang of his new job. The employee didn't have to work as hard now that he knew how to efficiently do his job, so why should Grant pay the same amount for his decreasing labor. Grant didn't actually lower the employee's pay, but the employee didn't see the fairness in this type of logic.
Berenice had her share of responsibilities on the ranch. Jim Wolf recollects how Berenice always supported the work of her husband. She stood behind him in whatever decisions he made. Her duties did not just include moral support. Berenice kept the house and did all the cooking. The Olsons would feed noon lunch to all of the hired hands, and Berenice insisted on doing all the cooking herself as she didn't like others invading her kitchen space. Ted Redler remembers that she was not only a self-sufficient cook but also a very good one. She would cook a large, tasty meal for the workers, but she always insisted that before they ate, they had to drink one glass of water. The workers would eat hardily, but Grant never indulged. He would eat to satisfy but never beyond. Berenice took pride in her responsibilities.
The ranch had two houses situated close to one another. A large farm house in which the Olsons lived while they were actively controlling their ranch. There was also a small house for the hired help. After the two retired, they found that the large house was too spacious for their needs, so they moved into the small house and rented out the larger house. The small house was easily kept up by Berenice. The couple didn't have any modern conveniences such as running water, although it was added later.
As the ranch boomed with cattle, prosperity abounded. Grant was a wise steward of his money but not very organized. Grant didn't fully trust the stability of any one bank, and so he would have savings accounts in a variety of different financial establishments. Grant soon realized that he had accumulated much wealth, and he needed to divide it up and designate his assets to whatever causes or people he chose. It was important for Grant to establish his estate planning just in case something would happen to him. In order to bring about the largest profit possible, Grant used the surplus of his accumulated wealth and deposited it in many different stocks. The remainder of the money accumulated interest in banks.
Norm Smith remembers hearing a story about Grant's estate planning. Grant had gone to meet with his lawyer, Mr. Alfred Ellick, and he was to bring along all of his bank book, receipts, and evidence of stocks, bonds, and property. He brought it all in a big paper bag. When he arrived, he dumped the contents of the bag onto the table and among the papers there was a receipt from a bank in Chicago. He had sold cattle in Chicago and instead of carrying the cash back to Nebraska with him, he deposited it there. Over the years he had forgotten about the deposit. And now he came to find out that he had $26,000 stashed in a bank he had completely forgotten about.
When Grant and Berenice had achieved a constant cash flow, they were able to purchase everything they wanted. Unlike others with such wealth, they chose not to be frivolous. They were content with what they had and didn't spend their money unwisely. They always had what they needed, but they never flaunted their wealth.
However, they did buy some things that they wanted. They always drove nice vehicles. Berenice had a flair for fashion. She always bought her attire in Omaha. She and Grant would take trips to Omaha just to shop. Berenice always matched perfectly. For example, she always bought her hat, gloves, shoes, dress, and other accessories to complement each other. Even after they weren't able to make the trip to Omaha, Berenice would order her clothes from aprominent clothing catalog. Unlike Berenice, Grant opted for a simpler style. Everyday he wore a clean pair of khaki pants and a fresh shirt. After the couple retired, they were finally able to travel. They took some nice trips. They were said to have visited all of the continental states excluding one.
They didn't just spend their money on themselves. They made many different donations. Although they didn't attend the Loretto Methodist Church regularly, Grant would make generous donations to it. Phyllis Michael recalls that whenever the church needed new gravel, new carpets, or anything else, they asked Grant. The only hitch was that the Church had to do the work Grant's way and he could be a stubborn man.
Grant and Berenice were an exceptional couple. They were private people. They kept to themselves and almost never went visiting, although they did seem to enjoy having people visit them. They both did a lot of reading and were very knowledgeable on many subjects. They were able to carry on intelligent conversations about almost anything.
The couple didn't always see eye to eye on all business matters. Grant believed that if he was paying people to work, they had better be doing just that. For instance, one of Grant's hired men had been absent from work for a time, and when he got back Berenice chatted with him about his absence. Grant found them standing in the front yard and promptly requested that the man get to work. Grant told the man that he could speak with Berenice on his own time, but not on Grant's time. Grant didn't want to have to pay the man to stand there and visit with his wife. Grant had been overheard many times telling his wife to be quiet and stop socializing with the ranch hands.
Grant and Berenice each had their own unique characteristics. Grant had big dreams for a prosperous ranch. One of these such dreams is remembered by Ted Redler and Junior Wiegand. Grant wanted to start out buying 500 head of cattle. His goal was to refrain from selling any for ten years. He was told that there wasn't a ranch big enough to raise 500 head of cattle and their yearly offspring for that length of time.
Grant never carried any cash with him. If he bought something he always would write a check. On one of the several occasions that they were waiting the departure of the train to Chicago, Grant and a few of his hired men went to the local cafe to have some coffee. Grant would borrow money from one of the men because he didn't want to write a check for such a small amount. Grant always remembered how much money he had borrowed and promptly paid it back.
Grant was said to have a excellent memory. Junior Wiegand drove a truck for him, and he remembers Grant would tell him all of the different weekly stops that he would need to make at the beginning of the week. Junior would get out his notebook and write it all down. The same was not necessary for Grant, as the only notes he kept were in his mind. Junior Wiegand states that never once did Grant forget where Junior was supposed to be on any given day.
He was known throughout Albion as a man of few words. He didn't believe in small talk. If he didn't have anything important to say, he didn't say anything at all. When a conversation came to close, Grant would often end by saying, "Okay" or just walking away. Some people took this behavior as rude, but it wasn't meant to be. It was just Grant's disposition. An example of this mistaken rudeness was Grant's trips to the bank. He was known there as "Grunt" Olson because of his failure to make conversation.
Phyllis Michael did the washing and ironing for the Olson's. She remembers one special day when Grant brought over the laundry. "...and he'd bring these clothes in and set them in my utility room. He had them in bags, cloth bags, and he'd just open the door, set them in there, and I always tried to know when he came and I'd say, 'Well, hello, Grant', and he'd just say 'Hello'. That's all he'd say. Then he'd leave. One summer... one spring, I just couldn't believe it. He came with the wash and before he left he said, 'I brought these to ya.' And it was a bouquet of wildflowers. I nearly had a heart attack. To think Grant Olson would stop along the road and pick me wildflowers. So that was really a special thing..."
Berenice liked to visit. After Grant passed away, Berenice lived in the small house on the ranch. She rented the large house to Bob and Gay Sandman and their family. Berenice had several magazine subscriptions, and everyday when Bob brought her the mail, she always had a large bundle. Berenice would sit and visit with Bob for a half hour or better before letting him go about his day. Although she would never go over to the Sandman's house uninvited, she visiting with their entire family when they came to see her. She always made sure to have plenty of treats on hand for the Sandman children.
When the Sandmans would go into town during the winter, they always checked with Berenice to see if there was anything that she needed from the grocery store. She consistently asked only for a few bananas and milk. She always said that would make do until she could get out herself.
One of Berenice's most noticeable habits was that she referred to everyone as Mr. or Mrs., whether she knew their names or not.
Berenice always took pride in the fact that she never lost any teeth and that she had black hair, even at her death. She also never gained any weight with her age.
Grant and Berenice lived on the ranch in the little house until Grant was unable to be cared for at home. He moved into the Wolf Memorial Good Samaritan Center and died shortly after on June 29, 1978, at the age of 80.
Berenice continued living on the ranch until 1984 when she moved to Wolf Memorial Good Samaritan Center Apartments. In 1991 she moved into the nursing home. She died a year later on January 29, 1992, at the Boone County Hospital.
Both Grant and Berenice's funerals were held at Levander Funeral Home in Albion. Berenice was buried beside her husband at Rose Hill Cemetery, just south of Albion.
When Berenice died, Grant's will was put into full effect. Long before he died, Grant devised a plan to distribute his estate amounting to several million dollars. In his will he divided his money among the people and organizations he felt most worthy of it. He left $2000 to the Loretto Methodist Church because Berenice had sometimes attended there and because the minister would sometimes stop in to see them. He left $1000 to the North Star Methodist Church near Fullerton because it was the church Berenice had attended as a child. He made arrangements for his sister, Ruby Deffenbaugh, to stay in a nursing home in Genoa. The rest he divided among four other organizations. He gave 25% to the Boy Scouts and 25% to the Girl Scouts because he had a sincere interest in scouting. He left 20% to Immanuel Hospital in Omaha because once when he and Berenice were shopping in Omaha, she fell and broke her hip. She received treatment at Immanuel Hospital, and he was very pleased with the quality of care provided. The remaining 30% was left to Albion Public Schools with the income to be used for scholarship loans for high school graduates in Boone, Nance, Greeley, Wheeler, and Antelope Counties.
The Olson ranch land was donated to the same four organizations, sold and the money was then divided between them according to the proportions designated by the will. Before the land was sold, the heirs of this fortune and their attorneys met and decided to keep a special tract of land separate from that which was to be sold. This separate land amounted to 77 acres and would be used as a nature preservation area that also would be available for public use. Today the Olson Nature Preserve is a public nature observatory. The grass is not mowed and the wild trees, plants, and flowers are allowed to bloom naturally. The area is meant to be used for outdoor education, wildlife habitat, recreation, and scientific research.
Area schools use this land as an outdoor classroom. Albion Public School students perform water tests on the Beaver River which runs through the Preserve. Petersburg Public School designs and writes a newsletter containing information about the Preserve. The area is used for community nature encounters, walking destinations, and a nature day camp is held for the young students.
When the heirs decided to set aside this tract of land for the purpose of nature preservation, they searched for a nonprofit organization that would take upon itself the responsibility of managing the land. Prairie Plans Resource Institute (PPRI) was chosen for this task. Prairie Plains is an educational land trust whose main focus is to keep the land centered on nature preservation. Prairie Plains was founded by Bill and Jan Whitney of Aurora, Nebraska. They publish a newsletter which tells about the progress and current standing of the Olson Nature Preserve and the other Prairie Plains projects.
Phyllis Michel sums up the Olson's legacy by saying, "....and like I say, when you'd go there to visit, they loved to visit, but they were very private people and didn't neighbor much with anyone, you know. People always thought that they were kind of strange. But they weren't strange, that was just their life, and there's a lot of people that way.......It makes me sad now when I drive up that valley road and they've torn all the trees down. They've torn down all the buildings. Only that one big grain building is left. Because it goes back to my family when the Barnes owned it. Course I wasn't a part of that family then, but it just makes me sad to think. All the hard work and it was lost in the depression. But Grant did do well on that ranch. And now it's just like a lot of other places around. No buildings. It would have a big story to tell if it could talk, I know that."
Comments or questions may be directed to Carol Eischeid at Petersburg Public School.
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